Virginia Gap Analysis Project (VA-GAP)

Background
Gap Analysis attempts to find the holes or "gaps" in a reserve network by identifying areas of high species richness and assessing their degree of "protectedness". The goal of Gap Analysis is to keep common species common by identifying those wildlife species that are not adequately represented in existing conservation lands. The Virginia Gap Analysis Project (VA-GAP) was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and other state, federal, and private natural resources groups in Virginia. The major objectives of the project were to (1) produce GIS-databases describing the actual land cover (vegetation types), predicted distributions of terrestrial vertebrates, predicted species richness and actual land ownership, (2) identify land cover types and terrestrial vertebrate species that currently are not represented or are underrepresented in areas managed for long-term maintenance of biodiversity (i.e., "gaps"), and (3) facilitate cooperative development and use of information so that institutions, agencies, and private land owners may be more effective stewards of Virginia's natural resources.

For more information see: <--
    Virginia GAP - Conservation Management Institute -->
    The USGS National Gap Program

To obtain a copy of the VA-GAP Report and Data as submitted to USGS,
e-mail Scott Klopfer at cmigis@vt.edu.

Datasets
The table below provides description and standard metadata records for the VA-GAP spatial datasets.